SAINT PATRICK'S DAY
by SANDEFUR
Summary: A green birthday.


ST. PATRICK'S DAY

by

SANDEFUR

Disclaimer: This is fanfiction just for fun. I have no claims.

3-17-08/Monday morning.

"What do you think, Annie?"

"It's funny, Daddy." Annie Girardi, nearly 19 months old, says with a giggle. "Just like the book!"

"Let's wake up your mom and see if she likes it too." Luke says as he puts the hot breakfast plate onto a tray.

Grace (who has been pretending to sleep while her noisy husband prepared her 'surprise' breakfast in bed) suppresses a smile and braces herself for what comes next…

"Wake up Mama, wake up!" Annie shouts as she jumps on the sofa bed. (Luke & Grace use the living room/dining room combo as their bedroom, and the apartment's tiny bedroom serves as Annie's room.)

"Huh? What's going on?"

"Happy birthday!" Luke and Annie shout in unison.

Grace laughs. "Is it my birthday? I guess it is."

"And…and we made you breakfast!" Annie excitedly adds as Luke puts the bed tray in front of Grace and removes the plate cover.

"Oh…well, isn't this…special?"

"Get it, Mama? Green eggs and ham!"

"Yeah, I get it." Grace says as she frowns at Luke. "Green eggs?"

"I just added a couple of drops of food coloring. After all, it is St. Patrick's day."

"Which doesn't mean a helluva lot to a Polish Jew. And dude, ham? With Passover coming up?"

"It's turkey ham."

Annie has a hand over her mouth and is pointing at Grace…

"What's up with you, short stuff?"

"You said a bad word."

"No I didn't…oh crap, I did. Oh crap, I did it again."

Luke laughs. "You better stop Grace before you go broke. Annie, your mom said three bad words at a quarter each – how much does she owe the swear jar?"

"Seventy-five cents!"

Luke and Grace smile with pride at their genius daughter.

Grace says, "I'm beginning to regret this swear jar idea. Swearing is a natural part of my speech pattern, and it's not like I say anything really bad in front of Annie."

"You agreed, Grace."

"I remember. I'm not that old."

"I don't know…from my perspective I'm married to an old lady in her twenties."

"And I'm stuck with a punk teenager."

Annie listens to this exchange and decides it is an example of 'kidding'. She is getting better at recognizing it, although she still doesn't understand why her parents do this silly thing. Annie smiles as she sees her parents share a grin and a quick kiss.

"Breakfast, Mama. It's getting cold."

"Right…breakfast." Grace says as she raises a forkful of green scrambled eggs… "I can't. I can't bring myself to eat green eggs."

"Grace, the food coloring doesn't affect the taste."

"I'll try them, Mama."

Grace guides the eggs into Annie's mouth… "Yum, good."

"Then you can have them." Grace says as she makes a quick sandwich of the toast and turkey ham while continuing to feed Annie bites of green eggs. Soon breakfast is over, and while Luke does the dishes, Grace returns the living room to normal.

"What are your plans for today, Grace?"

"I thought I would take Annie to the parade."

"Appropriate, since she is part Irish."

"She is?"

"Sure. My Mom is a 'Brodie' on her dad's side, and a 'Donnelly' on her mother's side."

"I remember…it's just that I always think of Irish names as beginning with 'O'."

"I wish I could join you, but I have a quantum physics mid-term at noon. But this evening, I have arranged a babysitter and I'm taking you out for a special birthday dinner."

"Don't forget the present, Daddy."

"Annie, that was a secret."

Annie gulps, "I forgot."

"That's okay. Before we go out, Annie and I have a present for you that we both picked out."

Grace grins. "A present on my birthday? I never would have suspected that secret. Any hints?"

"None – and don't try to get it out of Annie. She promised not to tell."

Annie nods with her mouth clamped tight.

"Oh really? I bet I can tickle it out of her!"

Annie giggles and runs for her room while a laughing Grace dashes after her.

X X X X X

For Annie the news of a trip to see a big parade was not a pleasant surprise. Her last experience with a parade ended when someone tried to shoot her Grandpa Will and instead ended up wounding her Grandma Helen. It was so scary, the noise and the blood... It was also why she and Mama stayed in Arcadia while Daddy returned to school. Mama volunteered to help Grandma during her recovery, and they spent all of January in Arcadia while Helen began to quickly get better. It was a big relief for Annie to see her Grandma recovering, and the extended stay wasn't so bad since her mean aunt, E.T., behaved herself for a change. The noisy scare caused E.T. to be subdued in her behavior until she too was sure her mother was going to be okay. Annie decided to be brave when Mama mentioned the parade, because she could see her mother really wanted to go, and it is her birthday. She would be braver than E.T., who was after all much much younger than herself - nearly nine months younger.

Grace makes sure they have everything they need for the journey to South Boston to see the St. Patrick's day parade. The young Girardi family lives three walk-up floors above a salumeria in their North Boston neighborhood, and you never wanted to leave anything behind to avoid an unnecessary trip back up those stairs. Although the neighborhood is considered Italian, it is in transition and now less than half of the residents are still Italian. Even so, Grace is as likely to receive a "Buongiorno, Signora Girardi" as she is a "Hello" or a "Good Morning". (It has taken awhile to convince the neighbors that despite her married name, Grace knows no Italian.) Grace leaves extra early because travelling with Annie always results in a lot of delays...

Annie, dressed in a green jacket and wearing a plastic green bowler, looks even cuter than usual. Grace's daughter has never experienced that shyness with strangers that most kids go through, and she eagerly greets everyone they meet. It took Grace time to get use to how much attention her daughter draws when they are out in public. People can't help but respond warmly to Annie, and they always stop to speak to the beautiful, friendly little girl and tell Grace how adorable her daughter is. This is intensified by Annie the word-sponge calling out greetings in Italian... "Buongiorno, Signora Micarelli." "Ciao, Signore Petrangelo." No one can resist the charm of this lovely child, and the elderly are especially delighted and often give Annie coins, to which she always says "Thank you." (Or, "Grazie.")

The walk to the 'T' accomplished, the subway journey to South Boston is more of the same as Annie gladly speaks to one and all - especially anyone who seems down. After a brief chat with Annie, even the gloomiest person ends up with a smile on their face. Grace supposes at some time soon she will have to lecture Annie on the dangers of talking to strangers, but she isn't ready to darken Annie's sunny view of the world just yet. For the moment, Grace settles for guarding her precious chick closely and relishing the joy Annie brings to all.

They arrive at the Broadway 'T' station in South Boston where the parade begins, but the crowds are too thick for either to see much. Grace travels further along Broadway, and eventually finds a spot where the crowd is thinner, and they are lucky enough to secure an empty stone bench where Annie can stand and see the parade. It is a sunny day, quite mild for this time of year, and the crowd is in a festive mood. Grace automatically checks for any signs of potential trouble, but other than a couple of 'happy' drunks staggering by and a teenaged punk with a paintball gun (splatting anyone who isn't wearing green with green paint), all seems well. Grace is glad she remembered to dig out of the closet her old army fatigue jacket. Soon the parade is well under way, and Annie watches fascinated by all that is occuring. Cops and Firemen march by, and there are lots of bands, including many from out of state. Grace spots one high school band from Indiana and another from California. Soon the sound of a bagpipe band comes from down the street...

"What's that, Mama?" Annie asks while holding her ears.

"Those are called bagpipes."

Annie absorbs the new word even as she spots the source of the sound and the men playing them. She giggles, "Mama, those men are wearing skirts!"

"No sweetie, those are called 'kilts'. Men who are Celtic, like the Scots and the Irish, sometimes wear those. It's a part of their culture."

Annie tries to take in this information, finding some of it confusing, but it links her to what her parents were talking about this morning. Annie begins this new train of thought even as Grace points out a new attraction...

"Look up there Annie, balloons!"

Annie stares up in awe at the passing balloons, which are not quite up to the size of the ones seen on Thanksgiving in New York, but are still quite impressive. Grace can't resist snapping a photo of Annie with her phone and quickly sends it to Luke along with a text message that if he can make it to the parade in time, they will be glad to meet him at the Broadway 'T' station. After the balloons have gone by, Annie recalls her new thought line...

"Mama, why are people different?"

X X X X X

Across the river in Cambridge, Moira Sullivan leaves the physics classroom with a sigh of relief that the test in quantum physics is over. Like all of the students at M.I.T., Moira was a high school whiz when it came to science, but since starting at this school she has learned how ordinary she is compared to the student body at large. It makes her wish she had developed better study habits when she was younger, because for the first time in her life schoolwork is not something she can breeze through. Moira spots Luke Girardi standing in the hallway smiling at something on his cell phone. She wishes she could be in his study group, but everyone wants to be partnered with the genius from Arcadia Maryland. Moira also admires Luke the handsome young man, and wishes he didn't so prominently have on display a wedding ring...

"What an adorable child. Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

Luke responds, "That's okay. This is my daughter, Annie."

Moira notes the pride and love in Luke's voice when he mentions Annie. "She's beautiful. It looks like she is at the parade."

"Yes, my wife took her there earlier."

"I hope I can get back to Southie before the parade is over. It would be the first one I've ever missed."

"I'm headed that way. Would you like a ride?"

"I'd love one."

As they head for the parking lot to Luke's Jeep, Moira feels an excitement in his presence. She knows this is wrong, Luke is obviously a devoted father and presumibly a happily married man, but he's just so cute... No Moira, don't think like that. Talk about the class you share, or the parade or the weather, and don't - don't look for clues that this handsome guy might be interested in a little fling on the side. Besides, you would never date a married man, not even one this good looking...would you?

X X X X X

Grace's hesitation continues as she tries to think of how to answer Annie's question. She recognizes this is one of those parental moments where you have to speak carefully because it might shape how Annie thinks about others...

"Well Annie, people are different because...God wanted them that way."

"Why?"

"Uh, do you remember the rainbow we saw the other day?"

Annie nods. "Beautiful!"

"Right, and that's because it was made up of so many colors. If it was all the same color, it would be dull. God made people different to keep the world from being such a dull place."

Annie listens politely even though this is not what she meant. "Colors are different, and people are different colors, but...other things are different too. Some are Irish, some are Italian and what you said you were, uh..."

"Polish Jew?"

"Yes. What's that mean?"

"Oh. Well...Irish, Italian and Polish, and other such names, refer to your heritage."

"Huh?"

"What countries your ancestors...your early family members come from."

"Like great grandpa?"

"You remember him?" (Annie nods.) "Wow, what a memory. Yeah, my grandparents were from a country called Poland. They came to America late in 1939."

"Why?"

Grace sighs. She is definitely not going to try to explain to a girl Annie's age about Nazis and the holocaust. "Some bad people came into Poland and my grandparents, who were recently married, ran away from the bad people. They and a bunch of their cousins eventually settled in the Arcadia area. Your Grandpa Aaron was born there a few years later."

"So...'Polansky' is Polish?"

"Yeah, but my grandparents changed their name to 'Polk'."

"Why?"

Grace sighs again. How does she explain that the fear of anti-semitism led her grandparents to try to originally hide their Jewishness? Later, when they became more confident of their safety, they resumed being openly Jewish but kept the Polk name.

"They thought Polansky sounded funny to American ears, so they changed to Polk. Later, after I was born, my Dad changed it back to Polansky."

"Why?"

Grace smiles. Sometimes it seems Annie never stops asking that question. "Partly because my Mom is a second cousin to my Dad, and she was born a Polansky. But mostly because when my Dad became a rabbi, he thought Polansky went better with that title. Don't ask why."

"What about Daddy?"

"Your dad is Italian on his father's side and Irish on his mother's."

"What am I?"

"That makes you half Polish, one fourth Irish and one fourth Italian. Girardi is an Italian name. You're also half Jewish and half Catholic."

Annie frowns in confusion. "That's too many parts. What is Jewish and...Catholic?"

Grace bites her lip, wishing she hadn't added this aspect to the conversation. "Jewish and Catholic are religions - the way people worship God. You know how we go to temple on Saturday, and your dad takes you to church on Sunday? Those are places where people practice their religions."

"You and Daddy are not the same?"

"No, we each have a different religion."

"Why?"

"It's...just how we were raised."

"Is one better than the other?"

Grace wants to say yes, that Annie should pick their Hebrew faith. That being a Jew is more than just religion, culture or ethnicity - it is a unique combination of all three and Grace wants Annie to follow her way. But...she made a pact with Luke to raise Annie in both faiths, and let her choose when she gets older. It occurs to Grace that they are placing an enormous burden on their daughter as she may see it as choosing a favorite parent...

"No sweetie, one isn't better than the other. We're just different - like the colors in the rainbow. It keeps us from being dull."

Annie thinks about this, and wonders why people make such a fuss about this thing called 'religion'. Recently, Annie has begun to realize that her friend Yah-Yah is also this being people call God. Annie knows Yah-Yah loves both of her parents equally, and she doesn't understand why they have to approach Yah-Yah in different ways. She would tell her mother the truth about God and Yah-Yah, but she knows that while both of her parents believe in 'God', they think Annie has made up Yah-Yah. It would be too hard to get them to understand...

"I still don't get it. So many words: Polish, Irish, Italian, Jewish, Catholic... What am I, Mama?"

"You're...an American."

"American..." Annnie repeats and nods, satisfied.

Grace breathes a sigh of relief. "Hey, we're missing the parade. Look, here comes some Minutemen."

Annie resumes watching the parade as a fife and drum corps goes by followed by men dressed as Revolutionary War soldiers, with some dressed as the backwoodsmen of the day. A couple of the backwoodsmen fire off blanks with their muskets. Immediately Annie screams in terror, her small body trembling with fear. Grace realizes the connection between this noise and the tragedy that occured when they were in Arcadia, after another parade. Grace takes Annie into her arms...

"Sweetie, it's okay. Those were just blanks. There's nothing to be scared of."

But Annie doesn't understand about blanks. "Scary noise...scary noise! I want to go Mama, I want to go now."

"Yes, we're leaving, right now." Grace says as she hurries away while holding Annie tight. She hopes she can get away quickly, before the muskets can fire another round. Grace's cell phone buzzes, and while still rushing with Annie, Grace checks the screen for the incoming text. Luke has arrived at the Broadway 'T' station. "Your daddy is waiting for us..."

X X X X X

Moira Sullivan stands next to the driver's side door of the Jeep, wishing her time with Luke didn't have to end. Their trip from Cambridge to South Boston confirmed what she always thought. Not only is Luke Girardi really cute, but he is also an incredibly nice guy. If only he didn't wear that wedding ring...

"Thank you Luke for the ride. I appreciate it."

"Glad to do it, but it looks like you've missed the parade."

"The parade starts here, but it continues through a lot of the neighborhood. I can rush over to Andrew Square where it ends and catch most of it. Without your help, I would have missed it all. And speaking of help, thank you for clearing up the mistakes I made on the midterm. I see now why I was so stuck on a couple of the questions."

"Again, I was glad to help."

"It must be great to be a genius and not have to sweat things like tests."

"Are you kidding? I studied every moment of the weekend getting ready for today's test. It was one of the hardest I've ever taken."

"But...I thought it all came so easy for you."

"Moira, everyone is stressed and studying hard. M.I.T. is a tough school, and even we so-called geniuses have to put in a lot of study time."

"Yeah, I guess I have been skimping a bit on my studies. I never had to try hard in school before this, and I never developed the good study habits you have. But I'm tired of being a 'C' student. I'm going to try harder, and I definitely will be doing better by the time we have finals."

"I'm sure you will."

"Well, I guess I better get going. Thanks again." Moira says as she extends her hand through the open window of the Jeep.

Luke shakes her hand and Moira lets the small physical contact linger. If only...

"I wish you weren't married."

Moira gasps, aghast that she has spoken aloud what she was thinking. She hastily withdraws her hand while blushing.

"Moira..."

"I'm sorry. I don't know why... I'm so sorry."

Moira turns and quickly runs away. Luke watches, surprised by this turn of events, and notices for the first time what a very pretty girl Moira is, and how nicely she bounces as she runs. Luke grins, and then turns his head when he hears a familiar small voice...

"Daddy!" Annie calls out, relieved to see her father. He is so big and strong - he will protect her from the scary noise.

Luke continues to grin as he sees his daughter, but then he notices the scowl on Grace's face. The grin disappears.

X X X X X

That evening is one of quiet, strained relations between Luke and Grace. The dinner reservations were cancelled, and the babysitter told not to come. Luke helped Annie get ready for bed, and for the first time she asked for a nightlight. Luke listened carefully to Annie's account of the day, and did his best to reassure her. He explained carefully about blanks and bullets, and how no one was in danger at the parade, despite the scary noise. He agreed with Annie that guns were bad, even if all they did was make loud noises. Feeling calmer and safer with her Daddy by her side, Annie quickly drifts off to sleep...

Luke leaves Annie's room, carefully closing the door behind him, and he sees Grace is making a point. She has opened the sofabed early, but Luke's pillow is over on the recliner...

"I guess we're not sleeping together tonight?"

Grace rolls her eyes. "For a smart guy you really say some dumb things."

"Why are you blowing this out of proportion? There's no reason to be so angry."

"No reason? I saw you flirting with that...co-ed."

"I was not flirting."

"Fine. She was flirting with you, and you were enjoying it way too much. I saw you grinning like some...teenaged boy!"

"Yes, well, I'm sorry for that. The whole situation threw me off guard. I had no idea Moira felt that way about me."

"No? And it was just a coincidence that the only girl in school who has a crush on you is the one you gave a ride to? Or is she the only one?"

"I don't know, Grace. I don't pay any attention to the girls at school."

"I'll bet. How long has 'Moira' been flirting with you? Is this the only time the two of you have been alone together?"

"I told you before, I never noticed Moira prior to today. She was just another student in our quantum physics class, and not a very good one."

"You enjoyed that she was attracted to you."

"I did."

Grace glares at Luke. He continues, "I'm not going to lie to you. It was flattering, and...outside my normal life experience. I've spent so many years as a 'four-eyed geek', it was an unexpected ego stroke to know that a pretty girl could find me attractive..."

"So you do think she's pretty?"

"Now that I've noticed, I think she's very pretty."

Grace shakes her head in disbelief. "You really don't get how this works, do you? When making up with the wife after being caught with another girl, you're not suppose to say she is 'very pretty'!"

Luke smiles. "But not as pretty as you, Grace."

"Oh right, like I'm suppose to buy that. I saw that girl with her perfect face and figure. I'm surprised one of her boobs didn't knock an eye out when she began running and bouncing like that."

"Which means nothing to me. Grace, you're the only woman I think about, the only one I desire. And I think you're the sexiest woman ever."

Grace hesitates. "Yeah...?"

"Oh yeah. Sometimes when I'm at school trying to study or in a class, I find myself thinking of how much I love your body, and how much I want to be with you at that moment."

"Y-Yeah?"

Luke comes nearer, smiling. "And I'm not the only one who finds you sexy. I've noticed how men check you out."

Grace snorts, "Now you're laying it on a little thick. I'm a stay-at-home mom who doesn't have time to pay attention to her appearance. What guy finds that attractive?"

"Well for one, that guy on the second floor...Angelo?"

"The uh, bodybuilder?"

"So you have noticed. Yeah, everytime we walk upstairs, he pokes his head out his door and watches us. I'm pretty sure it isn't my ass he's watching."

Grace smiles. "He likes my ass?"

"Ha! Right there, that's the same grin I was wearing today."

Grace blushes a little. "Okay, I can see that it is a bit of an ego stroke to have someone attractive think you are attractive."

Luke smiles back. "Oh, so you think he's attractive?"

Grace laughs. "Don't start. Luke, did you make that up about Angelo watching me climb the stairs just to end this arguement?"

"I wish I did. It's really starting to piss me off the way he ogles your butt, but considering all of those muscles, I've restrained myself from telling him to go to hell."

"If I notice him doing it, I'll tell him to go to hell."

"Not that I can blame him too much. You really do have a sexy backside, Grace." Luke says as his hands slide around to the back of Grace's jeans. "I think it's because of all that walking you do."

Luke leans in and kisses his wife. Grace responds and passion quickly builds. Clothes go flying and the young couple soon tumbles into bed, enjoying a time of frantic, heated love-making which ends their arguement and confirms the depth of their bond. Later, as they rest in each other's arms and catch their breath, they share smiles and tender caresses...

"Grace, that was..."

"Amazing. And not a bad birthday present, even though we owe the swear jar a small fortune."

Luke smiles. "You know that old saying: 'You're beautiful when you're angry.'? Well, it's not true. You're scary when you're angry. Green-eyed jealousy doesn't look good on you. I'm so glad we made up."

"Me too. A fight is a lousy way to celebrate your twentieth birthday."

"Speaking of which..." (Luke leans over the side of the bed and retrieves a small box from his pant's pocket.) "Happy birthday, Grace."

Grace reads the card. "To Grace with love, Luke and Annie. She really helped pick this out?"

"Annie even paid the sales tax all on her own from her collection of coins. Open it."

Grace opens the small box and smiles. "Wow, emerald earrings. They're beautiful."

"I know you don't wear a lot of jewelry..."

"They're wonderful." Grace says as she slips the earrings on. "How do I look?"

"Beautiful, especially considering they are the only things you're wearing. I love you, Grace."

"I love you, and...I'm hungry."

"I might need a little more recovery time before..."

"Not for sex - well, not right away. I meant actually hungry. We skipped dinner."

"We could order Chinese."

"I don't know, the delivery guy always gives us a hard look after he has to climb all of those stairs. No tip seems big enough to make it right."

Luke chuckles. "I bet if you answer the door looking like this, he will never complain again, and we would get rapid service from now on."

"Okay, you're on."

"Grace...I-I was kidding!"

Grace laughs. "For a genius, you are much too easy to fool."

Luke smiles back. "Happy birthday, my beautiful twenty year old wife, and I will make us dinner. That way you can stay 'dressed' just as you are."

Luke leaves the bed and heads for the kitchen. Grace watches as he goes - speaking of nice butts...

'The End'.

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